I am getting a slight vibration through the steering wheel. It started about 6 months ago when I was at between about 65 and 75mph, but it's getting worse and the speed range is spreading.

I have had the front wheels balanced twice, but this has had no effect. I took a quick look under the car for obvious signs of wear to the various bushes and also did the classic 'holding the tyre in two hands and shaking vertically and horizontally' test, but didn't spot anything obvious.

Can anyone give me a shortlist of what I should be checking in order of probability?

Many thanks

P.S. 2005 XKR, 81000 miles

 

Frog,

If your suspension is in good order, you would likely see improvement by having a top-notch tire shop put your wheels and tires onto a Road Force Balancing machine.

It worked wonders for me, and has been discussed in this forum recently...have a look HERE.

Good luck.

 

This is kind of a stupid question, but how does one know if it's a top notch tyre shop? All the shops I have in my local area (and remember we are talking about France here, so no RoadForce brand, AFAIK) are of the pile-em-high, sell-em-cheap variety. The second time I had my wheels balanced, I used my local VW garage. They are usually very good (I have bought several new cars from them in the past), but it didn't make any difference to the wobble.

Do you think tracking/alignment could cause wobble? I haven't had this checked.

 

Frog,

All tire shops will have some sort of spin balancing machine, but typically only the better ones also have the second kind of balancing machine, which measures the balance of the wheel / tire set while under simulated load. Truth is, I'm not sure what the brand name of our machines over here are, but your better shops do have this equipment over there.

Tell them you need more than the basic "spin balance." You need the machine that checks balance under load, and also performs a "match balance," which matches the high point of the wheel with the low point of the tire (or vice versa). If the shop has this equipment, they are likely a good bet.

 

Ah ok, now I get you. This is the info I needed. many thanks. Now I just have to work out how to say it all in French

 

The inner wheel rims should also be inspected for dents.

 

If you have 85,000 miles on your XKR it's more likely the suspension comnponents than your tire balance....given that you've already tried rebalancing. You need to have shock bushings, control arm bushings, upper shock mounts, and all the sway bar bushings/end links checked.

FYI: I used to balance tires the old fashioned way...a bubble balance on the floor...and NEVER had a tire come back for rebalancing. Unless a tire has a tread problem, it is easy to get a true balance for any speed. But you'd be surprised at how many tires today have tread deficiences. Recently, after a few thousand miles of shaking and 5 rebalances I got rid of the Pirelli Scorpions on my Suburban, and put Michelins on. No problems since...yet.

 

my experience too, when the multiple balance can't get all of the vibration out, there's usually a small dent to the inside of the rim. The high speeds is where these are most evident.